Steady rest



Oct. 7, 1952 J, u, SHAGER 2,612,809

STEADY REST Filed Dec. 10, 1948 2 SHEETS SHEET l v 2 "La-FEEL? INVENTOR.1 [W Z2 zilglz'arz Hfier o 1952 J. u. SHAGER 2,612,809

STEADY REST Filed D80. 10, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 a 7 FEE 29 6 I INVENTOR.

@iil'orney Patented Oct. 7, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

.STEADY ass'r JulianiU. Shager, Tacoma, Wash;

Application December 10, 1948, Serial No.r64,580

6 Claims.

The invention relates to steady rests-adapted to be removably secured toa machine tool such as a lathe or the like and the primary object of theinvention is to provide a rest adapted to support apiece of work beingmachined so as to reduce as far as possible vibrations set up in saidpiece of work. V

Another objectof the inventionis to provide a steady rest adapted to besecured in a positionof adjustment lengthwise of and on the 'bed or onthe carriage of the machine tool andto support and hold the piece ofwork against whipping while at the same time permitting free rotation ofthe work and the lengthwise movement of the carriage supporting thecutting tool used on said piece work.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rest of the characterindicated above adapted to true a piece of work more accurately in themachine.

A still further object of the invention is to provide 'a rest of thecharacter indicated above adapted to hold and support thepiece of workwithout marring the same.

An additional object of the invention is 'to provide a rest of thecharacter indicated above adapted to supporta heavy piece of work "witha minimum of friction.

Another object of the inventionis top-rovide a lathe rest of thecharacter indicated above adapted to'support a piece of work at alltimes as near as :possible to the carriage :supporting thecutting'tool.

(A further and more specific object of the imvention is to "provide :animproved steady .rest for use upon alathe, wherein a single'means isprovided for adjusting the relative positions of cooperating supportingelements with respect to a piece of work whereby the work may be easily.and quickly centered in the rest by :a single movement ,or operation ofthe machine operator.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a steady rest "forusein association with a lathe wherein the work supporting meanscomprises ;a plurality of rotatably supported heads carried byipivotallymounted supporting arms, the mounting for the'arms beingsuch that bymovement of certain of the arms withrespect to associated ones the said.rotatably supporting heads will bemoved' as a unit toward or :away fromthe center of the support.

7 Other objects of the invention not specifically mentioned will appearin the following specifi cation describing the invention withreferenceto the accompanying drawings illustrating a pre- Ierredembodiment of the invention.

In order that my invention may be better understood, I will now proceedto describe .the same-with referenceto theaccompanying drawings,wherein: V

Figure 1 is a view inside elevation Ora-steady restconstructed inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

.Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line.2--2 ofFigure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view showing, in elevation, the hinge couplingbetween the upper andlower sections of the rest frame.

Figure 4 .is a detailed section taken substantially on the line 4-4 ofFi el. v

"Figure 5 is a view in elevation of one side jot a modified embodimentof the steady restjdesigned for attachment to one side of the toolcarriage.

Figure 6 is a sectional 'view taken substantially on "the line'6-6 ofFigure '5.

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail section'taken substantially on the lineL4 of Figure *5.

.In accordance with the present invention an'd referring particularlytothe embodiment of the same as illustrated in Figures 1 to '4; thenumeral I 0 generally designates-an annular frame-which is divideddiametrically into the upper andlower sections or halves Hand 12respectively. The rest-as "a whole is designed tobe mounted upon theusual bed ways, not shown, of a'lath'e and to facilitate such mountingthe lower section 12 of the frame in is provided with the-foot platet3having connected therewith 1a conventional means, generally designatedM, forsecuring it in a position of adjustment on the bed ways.

The sections I] and 12 are hinged-1y coupled together in a suitable.manner as, :by the provision .of a pair of hinge ears i5 joined by ;,apivot bolt 15 at one side of :the frame, while at the other side of theframe the ends .of:-the two halves are providedmith the :upper and lowerears I! and 1:8 respectively, the lower ear :car rying upon thetransverse :pivot 1 9a :lockzboit 20 which enters in the well knownconventional manner in a slot, "not'shown, in the upper ear ll. Thus thetwo halves of the frame are joined to ether to :form the completeannulus.

. The .frame ll! ,has'formeditherein :a continuous T- 1et which 'isgenerally designatedzl, :the le 21a of I which is dire ted.radiallysinwardxly while the transverse portion or head of theslot 21];extends across theouter end of the legjportion in a directionparallelingrthe axial centenof the frame. Through a portion of thecircular extent of the upper half H of the ,framethere is, provided theshort outwardly opening slot 22 3 which communicates with the T-slot 2|as shown in Figure l, for the purpose about to be described.

Equidistantly spaced around the annular frame and forming integral partsof the same are the radially extending ears 24. Each of these earscarries and has extending transversely therethrough a pivot pin or bolt25 the purpose of which is about to be described.

While this member 25 has been shown as a bolt having its ends projectingbeyond the opposite sides of the ear through which it passes for theattachment of arms to the car, it is to be understood that use may bemade, if preferred, of studs or pins integral with the two side faces ofthe ears and adapted to receive retaining nuts.

Enclosed within the annular frame I0 is a split or two part ring 26which is divided diametrically on the line 21. The division of the frameand ring is to facilitate the opening ofthe top half of the device foreasy insertion and removal of work and it also permits ready placementof the ring in the frame l0. Many shafts have cranks or flanges whichwould not permit the use of a steady rest unless the rest could beopened. This ring has a cross sectional form conforming to the T-slot21, the overall width of the ring between the inner and outer edgesthereof being, however, materially greater than the total length of theslot 2| as shown in Figure 2, whereby a portion of the ring extendsinwardly beyond the inner edge of the frame. Adjacent to its outer endthe ring has the transverse head 28 which forms oppositely positionedflanges, which head engages in the transverse slot 21b of the T-slot,whereby the ring is maintained for free turning within the annular framebut the sections of the ring are prevented from coming away from thesections of the frame when the frame sections are separated.

Attached to the outer periphery of the ring 26 is a handle 29 whichextends out beyond the slot 21, the base of the handle being disposedWithin the slot as shown in Figures 1 and 2. By this means rotary motioncan be given to the ring 26 within the limits of the slot 21.

Swingingly attached to each of the radially extending ears 24, by meansof the pivots 25 is an articulated unit which is generally designated30. Each of these units comprises two cooperating pairs of arms, eachtwo pairs of arms having the frame and ring between them as shown. Eachpair of arms comprises a long link 3| which has one end pivotallyattached to a pivot member 25, and a short link 32 which is pivotallyattached at one end by means of the pivot pin 33 to the ring 26 as shownin Figure 1. Thus each two opposed or parallel pairs of links 32 has thering 23 between the outer ends thereof and such outer ends are connectedon the common pivot 33.

The opposite ends of each two adjacent links 3| and 32 are pivotallycoupled together by engagement with one end of an arbor 34 which extendsthrough the ring and thus couples together the inner ends of the twopairs of arms forming the unit 30.

Each arbor 34 is formed to provide the central eccentric bearing 34a andmounted upon each of these eccentric bearings is a ball bearing unit 35,as shown in Figure 4, which functions as an antifriction roller.

As will be readily apparent upon reference to Figure 1, when the lever29 is in one end of the slot 22 the ring 26 will be in a position wherethe pivots 33 for the short links of the articulated units are as nearlyin the radial line extending from the center of the frame to theadjacent pivot 25 as possible and when the units are in this positionthe rollers 35 will be at the maximum distance from the center of therest as shown in Figure 1. By moving the lever 29 toward the oppositeend of the slot 22 the pivots 33 will be shifted away from the .adjacentpivots 25 and the connected ends of the links 3| and 32 will be causedto swing toward the center of the rest, thereby moving the rollers in acorresponding manner. Thus by this single movement of the ring therollers can be moved as a unit toward or away from the center of therest to be brought into working engagement with the body which the restis to support while it is being worked upon in the lathe.

Figures 5 to 7 inclusive illustrate the application of the presentinvention to an open type of steady rest which is designed to be securedto one side of the tool carriage. In Figure 5 the tool carriage isgenerally designated C while the cutting tool mounted thereon isgenerally designated T.

The steady rest or follower rest of Figure 5 is generally designated 36and as shown it comprises an open or incomplete ring frame 36a which hasformed integral with it adjacent to one end, the mounting plate 31 whichis secured to the rear side of the tool carriage C by bolts 38. Thisopen frame 36a has a T-slot 39 formed therein and opening radiallyinwardly in the same manner as the frame I0 and in addition to theT-slot there is formed the radially outwardly opening slot 40,corresponding to the slot 22 of the construction shown in Figure 1.

Slidably engaged within the open frame 36a is an incomplete or open ring4| which has a cross section in the form of a T, to fit the T-slot 39,as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

As is customary in the use of follower rests the open side of the frameor annulus 36a is directed toward the operator so that the work can beeasily introduced and placed in position between the guide rollers 35aand the point of the tool 42.

The rollers 35a are supported on two pairs of arms in the same manner asthe rollers 35 shown in Figures 1 and 2 and these pairs of armsconstitute the supporting unit corresponding to the unit 30, and arehere generally designated 30a. The supporting arbor for each of therollers 35a is designated 34b and, as shown in Figure 6, has aneccentric central portion to facilitate adjustment of the rollers 35a aspreviously stated.

In view of the fact that the arm units 30a, the rollers 35a and thearbors 34b are all of the same construction as those previouslydescribed it is not believed necessary to give a repeated detaileddescription of the parts of these units.

In order that the open ring 4| may be held in desired position after ithas been shifted by means of the handle 29a, for the purpose of movingthe steady rollers 35a to the proper position with respect to the work,the ring is secured in place by means of one or more set screws 43, asparticularly illustrated in Figure 7. As shown in this figure the setscrew 43 has its inner end 44 engaging against the adjacent side of thehead of the divided or open ring II. By this means the ring will befirmly secured against movement after it has been turned to the desiredextent 1505 set the Work positioning and holding rollers From theforegoing description it will be readily apparent that there is providedin the present invention a novel and improved steady rest by means ofwhich the work can be easily and quickly centered and at the same timewill be held or supported firmly so that it can rotate freely withoutwhipping. When it is desired to put in a new piece of work or shift thesteady rest to another position where the supporting rollers must bemoved so as to accommodate a piece of larger or smaller diameter, suchadjustment can be easily and quickly made by means of the handle 29,thereby avoiding the necessity of adjusting several thumb screws andcontact fingers such as are employed in steady rests of the typegenerally used.

I claim:

1. A rest of the class described, comprising a frame adapted to besecured to a machine tool, an adjusting member carried by the frame forturning about a center, a plurality of two-part pivotally joined worksteadying arms each pivotally coupled at one extremity to said frame andat the other extremity to the adjusting member, a ball bearing workcontacting roller rotatably supported by each arm at the pivotalcoupling between the parts thereof to turn on an axis paralleling theturning axis of the adjusting member, and means for turning theadjusting memher to efiect movement of said work contacting elementrelative to said center, said adjusting member being turnable betweentwo positions in one of which positions said arms are folded with theroller separated from said center and in the other of which positionsthe arms are unfolded with the rollers closely grouped together aroundthe said center 2. A lathe steady rest, comprising a circular frameadapted to be mounted on a lathe at one side of a tool carriage, a ringsupported within the frame for rotation about a center corresponding tothe center of a piece of work to be turned in the lathe, a plurality ofpairs of parallel arms having spaced outer ends between which the ringis pivotally connected, a plurality of pairs of longer arms havingspaced outer ends between which the frame is positioned, the said outerends of the longer arms being pivotally attached to the frame, the innerends of each of the first mentioned pair of arms being in overlappingrelation with adjacent inner ends of a pair of longer arms, an arborpivotally supported between the adjacent inner ends of the pairs ofarms, a wheel rotatably supported on said arbor, and means for turningthe ring in the frame to shift the pivots for the outer ends of thefirst mentioned pairs of arms relative to the pivots for the outer endsof the said pairs of longer arms.

8. A lathe steady rest of the character described in claim 2, in whichthe said arbors are eccentrically supported by the arms whereby theturning centers for the wheels may be altered relative to the center ofthe ring.

4. A lathe steady rest comprising a frame adapted to be mounted on alathe at one side of a tool carriage, an adjusting frame mounted withinthe first frame to turn about a center corresponding to the center of apiece of work to be turned in the lathe, a plurality of twopartarticulated arm units, one part of each unit being pivotally secured tothe first frame and the other part being pivotally coupled to theadjusting frame, the articulation of each unit being within the areadefined by the adjusting frame, a roller supported on the articulationof each unit to turn on an axis paralleling the turning center of thework, and means for turning the adjusting frame, each of said rollersturning about and being supported by an arbor and each arbor in turnbeing supported to be adjustably turned on an eccentric center.

5. A lathe steady rest comprising a frame adapted to be mounted on alathe at one side of a tool carriage, anv adjusting frame mounted withinthe first frame to turn about a center corresponding to the center of apiece of work to be turned in the lathe, a plurality of two-partarticulated arm units, one part of each unit being pivotally secured tothe first frame and the other part being pivotally coupled to theadjusting frame, the articulation of each unit being within the areadefined by the adjusting frame, a roller supported on the articulationof each unit to turn on an axis paralleling the turning of the work,means for turning the adjusting frame about said center within the firstframe, each of said arm units consisting of two pairs of arms disposedin spaced parallel relation, the said one part of each unit constitutingtwo arms having the first frame position between their outer ends andthe said other part constituting said arms having the adjusting framepositioned between their outer ends, the inner ends of the two arms ofthe said one part being in overlapping relation with the two arms of thesaid other part and the said roller being supported between the innerends of the arms of the two parts.

6. A lathe steady rest comprising an upright annular body, a ringsupported by and concentric with said body for turning on the center ofthe body, a plurality of arms each pivotally joined to the body to swingon an axis paralleling the turning axis of the ring for swinging an endof the arm toward and away'from the center of the ring and body, a linkadjacent to each arm and pivotally coupled at one end to the adjacentarm, means pivotally coupling the other end of each link to the ring, aroller rotatably supported on the said end of each arm for turning on anaxis paralleling the turning axis of the ring, and means connected withthe ring for turning the same.

JULIAN SHAGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

